Homemade Holiday Gifts Part 1

Like so many other bloggers I have been busy working on holiday gifts but haven’t been able to post about them for fear of ruining the surprise.

For certain people I think it’s safe to start posting their gifts so here is the first round.

And I must be truthful; I didn’t have anything to do with this really (with the exception of some consultation). The boyfriend is giving these to his family:

This one is for his mom, it is an older piece that he just matted and framed. Although it's not typical of what he usually does it was one of the few things we could actually picture in his mom's house.

This one was done specifically with his little brother in mind and if you knew him you'd know just how appropriate it is.

Although my pictures don't really do the colors justice you get the idea. More gifts to come!

Frugal Lunch: Winter Edition

Sometimes a cold lunch or leftovers just won’t cut it for me, I want something hot and maybe a little fancy....but I'm too poor to go our for lunch. Who am I kidding? This is pretty much the battle I have everyday. Good news, I've come up with at least one solution.

I recently got inspired by a lunch at a local diner and came up with this: baked pasta with cheese and sauce (although in Rhode Island I should really call it gravy). This may sound ridiculously simple (which is the point) but it had never occurred to me to make a version of baked pasta simple enough that it wasn’t reserved for nice dinners. Usually baked pasta to me involves ricotta (which in our case has to be homemade) and means a lot of baking. Finally it occurred to me, baked pasta could be as simple as just pasta, sauce, cheese and a toaster oven.

First cook any kind of pasta (I like penne with ridges myself) until it is done to your liking. This is where most recipes would tell you not to overcook your pasta, but who am I to tell you not to overcook it? Sure I like my pasta a little al dente but for all I know you like mooshy pasta, so I’m going to say cook it however you like it. Eat it raw if you really want to.

Once your pasta is drained mix it with a little pasta sauce. Jarred sauce is just fine but homemade would be good too if you have it around. Then top with shredded mozzarella and maybe a little Parmesan. You could even add some dried herbs and garlic powder if you felt really crazy (or if, like me, you find most store bought sauce not seasoned to your liking).

Now here is the trick for me: I’m lucky enough to have a baking dish that fits perfectly into my toaster oven so I can just use that to broil my pasta. Otherwise you’ll have to do it in your oven. I just broil it enough to heat up the sauce and brown my cheese. Again, I like some brown bits on the cheese but if you don’t that’s ok too.

Voila! You’re lunch is ready and it’s just that much more special then plain old pasta with sauce but it’s well worth it.

Here are your before and after broiling pictures. It should only take a few minutes for the cheese to get nice and toasty so you have to keep a pretty close eye on it.

P.S. Happy Winter Solstice and first night of Hanukkah!

Swamp Yankee Soda

What is Swamp Yankee soda? Well it's definitely not name brand soda because Swamp Yankees are too frugal for that. But at the same time it wouldn't be generic soda because Swamp Yankees are too self reliant and ingenious for that. I actually have no idea if there is Swamp Yankee soda and what it would be but I imagine Swamp Yankees with more adventurous palates might like some of my favorites.

We haven’t kept soda in the house for years but I have to admit, I am a sucker for carbonation. For a long time I bought the flavored cans of seltzer (which still have no sugar) but I eventually just switched to regular seltzer. It’s great to keep on hand because it is good plain (at least I think so, I’m sure there are lots of people who would disagree) but it’s also great for cocktails or homemade soda.

Lately, perhaps out of boredom (having no job will do that to you) I’ve gotten more creative with the flavors of soda I attempt. A favorite has always been seltzer mixed with a little almond syrup but an even better variation is with a drop of rose water.

I have also started to use the syrups we made like our rosehip syrup which is delicious and a source of vitamin C!

But the best and most popular discovery so far is…maple soda. I just mix a few spoonfuls of maple syrup (but it must be very good very real maple syrup) with a little bit of seltzer until the syrup is dissolved and then I top up with the rest of the seltzer. It is important not to mix all your seltzer too vigorously because you will lose the carbonation which is basically the whole point of seltzer.

With just seltzer, chocolate syrup and milk on hand you can make an authentic New York egg cream! (No egg or cream required.) Although purists and Brooklynites will demand you use Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup I won’t insist. I usually put a couple tablespoons chocolate syrup in a cup with an inch or two of milk and mix this and then top up with a couple more inches of seltzer.

Or, if you are feeling really crazy, you can make an alcoholic egg cream. Since I’d like to believe that I’m the only one who has come up with this brilliant idea I’m not going to research it so please don’t tell me if it already exists. The idea is very simple: you just substitute Creme de Cocao (chocolate liqueur) for the chocolate syrup and make the same way.

The makings of your basic egg cream.

First: just chocolate syrup and milk.

Mix well, in fact do a better job then I did.

Next: add seltzer and ignore our messy table. You may be thinking: is that a stuffed loon I see? In which case you aren't ignoring the messy table like I asked you.

The result: a very foamy egg cream. Try not to make your as foamy as mine, I got careless. And how did that Creme de Cacao get in the picture? I swear I didn't do that, I think someone was trying to send me a hint.

Any other good soda flavor ideas out there for me to try?

Squirrel Feeding

It was very interesting to hear from some of you that you are having very different acorn related conditions this year. I was even tempted to request donations for our poor squirrels.

Keeping them in mind we have changed the way we look at food scraps. Instead of thinking first of the trash or compost we try to figure out a way to give them to the squirrels (and birds of course.)

A good recent example: we were negligent in our fire-keeping-going so our latest batch of dried apples ending up getting moldy.

It was quite disappointing, although it could have also been due partly to the type we used and not just our negligence. Instead of throwing them in the compost I decided to string them up all nicely for the squirrels.

The squirrels were so appreciative that they promptly ripped the string off the tree we had tied it to.

Dad rescued it from the soggy ground and I restrung them all onto wire. This worked much better and they stayed dry in the tree while the squirrels nibbled them off one by one.

Our next opportunity to recycle our leftovers was when dad trimmed the fat off pork while making posole. Instead of throwing the fat out it went into a cast iron skillet to be cooked over low heat. The yummy crunchy bits (a.k.a cracklings) went onto our posole in place of fried pork skins and the melted fat got mixed with birdseed and poured into plastic containers to make our own homemade suet. Although you could just save the plastic from commercial suet and use that as your mold dad took the easier route (note the sarcasm) and made his own metal suet cage to fit a more readily available size of plastic container.

The squirrels are so appreciative of this homemade suet that not only do they eat it all outside, they even found a way onto the porch to eat the extra we were saving!

More good news on the apple drying front: the recent arrival of an apple corer/peeler/slicer will make future batches much quicker.

It is amazing to see this thing in action, it is such an old invention but I couldn’t imagine anything that would work more efficiently. Unless maybe you attached one to a windmill so it did the turning for you. But I don’t think we have quite enough apples to warrant that quite yet.

Frittatatatatata

First some personal news relevant to this blog. I got laid off! That's right, I showed up at a mandatory meeting only to be told the store was closing that instant! The only upside is that I did get some severance pay but even with that I will still need to be even more frugal then ever. Although for the blog that is a good thing because it is keeping with the theme. Plus now I have more time to work on projects although I can't show some of them right now, at least not until after the holidays.

Back to the serious business of food: Frittatas are really a neglected egg preparation. Omelets get so much attention but they take more attention and need to be made right before eating. Frittatas are wonderful because there is a lot more flexibility, you don’t have to fold the darn thing or anything goofy like that and it can easily be made ahead of time. In fact I dare say that they are better leftover when served at room temperature. Finally, they are filling enough to be an entree but economical because even without meat they are still substantial and savory.

Although I previously included the recipe here I'm going to give it to you again plus a recent addition I made:

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 lb. zucchini
8 eggs
3 cloves garlic, chopped
12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
fresh grated pepper

Steps:

Grate zucchini into a colander, sprinkle with salt, let drain for 30 minutes or more, squeeze moisture from zucchini.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute zucchini and garlic on medium high until soft (2-5 minutes). Remove from heat, let cool.

Beat eggs, add basil, Parmesan, pepper, zucchini and garlic and mix well.

Preheat oven proof skillet (we use cast iron) with 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat. Add egg mixture, cover pan and turn heat to very low and cook until eggs are cooked almost to the top (about 10 minutes).

Pre-heat broiler, put eggs under broiler until top is browned and puffed (about 5 minutes).
Remove from heat and let cool, loosen with spatula and invert onto plate. Enjoy!

(Adapted from Cucina Fresca by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman.)

Is that a well loved copy or what?

So here is my recent variation: I added cooked pasta and black olives. You start with some cooked pasta, I used little elbows and mix it with a little tomato sauce (leftovers would work perfectly). Although some recipes want you to saute the pasta before mixing it in I'm not positive if this is necessary, it probably depends on how wet your pasta sauce is. Be forewarned it will probably stick to your pan pretty badly if you try. Either way when you are ready you mix the pasta and chopped black olives into your egg mixture along with everything else. I used 2 cups cooked pasta and black olives "to taste" (don't you hate when people say that?). The addition of the pasta may mean you have to add an extra egg or two.

Why pasta and black olives you may ask? Well I add black olives to pretty much everything I can get away with and pasta is a good way to stretch the dish economically without detracting from any of its good qualities, plus it adds good texture (as long as the pasta isn't too overcooked.)


This is the mixture when it is first dumped into the skillet.


Here it is turned out onto a plate. The dimple is where there was a bubble. It's ruined!!!! Not really but it is a little upsetting.

And here is is on my plate. With this version I tried to layer the zucchini and the pasta but I didn't have enough zucchini so it didn't really work. I'm sure it would have been cool but it is definitely not necessary.

Frittatas are best at room temperature and makes a fabulous sandwich the day after. It is also a good option to bring to a potluck especially because it is filling yet vegetarian.

And if you figure out a way to make it without getting bubbles on the bottom tell me!

(Paid for by the Committee to Reelect the Frittata)

Where Have All the Acorns Gone?

You may have noticed that my posts don't generally refer to news events but tend more towards what I'm up to. But for once these two actually intersect. The news has just confirmed what we had already noticed: there are no acorns this year! A Washington Post article explains this more in depth with some possible causes, all I know is that our squirrels seem very dependent on our charity this year.

(This feeder was full yesterday. They empty it that quick.)

The subject of feeding the squirrels always causes some debate in my house. My dad prefers to feed the birds but this generally means that in reality you are feeding the squirrels and the birds might get their leftovers. Because of this in previous years his efforts have been to reduce squirrel interference in bird feeding but this year, because of the lack of other resources, he has become more sympathetic towards the squirrels and begun to feed them also.

(The temptation to add my own idea of whatever cute little thing he might be thinking is strong but I will try to resist.)

One way we are feeding them is with a squirrel bungee feeder (the link will lead you to an ad for one but it has a good picture if you haven't seen one before). We thought this would be a good compromise because they get corn and we get entertainment. But of course they outsmarted us, they managed to get the entire cob off and proceeded to just eat it on the ground. We should have known, it is very hard to trick squirrels.

(Don't let him fool you, he has already found a way to empty this feeder too, he's just biding his time.)

I'm sure there are lots of different views about whether or not you should feed the squirrels just because there is a shortage of food this year. One could argue that this is just the natural cycle of things and feeding them this year will only increase the number that could potentially starve next year. These are good points but personally, I don't really think I could take the sight of emaciated squirrels begging on my front step. Maybe we are setting ourselves up to become the neighborhood crazy people who feed all the squirrels but if worse comes to worse we could always eat them (just kidding....or am I?) I will leave you with that thought.

(Or maybe I will leave you with this...look at those cheeks!)

Most Fabulous Panini Ever

I will confess that when the panini craze had just begun to sweep the country I was anti-panini. My only experience with them had been from restaurants and they just didn’t work for me. I think it was because the bread soaked up too much oil or something.

But then we tried making them at home using French bread from our local grocery. These were fabulous! The crusty bread gets nice and crunchy but because it is crust in contact with the pan and not the porous sliced edge of the bread it seems to absorb less oil (or at least that’s what I tell myself).

The trick is to squish the sandwiches before they go on the pan (we use cast iron) and then place something heavy on top of them while they cook. All of this is unnecessary of course if you have one of those fancy panini presses but since I’m not allowed to get one (grumble grumble) I make do.

In addition to the wonders of French bread panini we also discovered what is possibly the best variation of this ever. This was actually a meal of desperation one night when we really didn’t feel like shopping and wanted some comfort food.

Onto the sliced French bread I spread some mustard. Then I laid on some nice sliced sharp cheddar (we like Cabot or Cracker Barrel because they are virtually lactose free and therefore acceptable for lactose intolerant people like mom). On top of that I placed some chopped scallions and here is the secret ingredient…chopped jarred jalapeños.

You then squish the sandwich with the palm of your hand, place it on a hot but not too hot skilled, place something heavy on top and wait for the crust to get nice and crunchy and a little brown. Then flip and repeat with that side. It should be hot enough that the crust gets crispy but not so hot that it browns before your cheesy is melty.

My accompaniment of choice for the best panini ever? My own chicken and stars soup which is also obscenely easy. I use either homemade stock or Kitchen Basics (which is also very good and comes in a no salt version) and I heat it up with a little splash of white wine. I then throw in a couple tablespoons of stars and that’s it! I also occasionally throw in an egg and make egg drop soup this way.

Sadly I don’t have a photo for you, they quite literally got devoured before I had time to think of taking one. How bout this instead?:



This is where we are keeping all the canning we did this summer. It was all made by us (with the exception of two jars of jam, can you tell which ones?). Having it all in one place to oggle makes me feel very productive.